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Entries tagged with reading

I didn’t do this last week, but I don’t recall why as I actually had some reading progress to report. Oh well, here we go!

What are you currently reading?

I’ve been plugging away at Dubliners, which has really caught my interest. I didn’t really like the first story, but everything else has been great. I love the feeling of longing and isolation that exists throughout all of the stories, and I enjoy the way that each one moves onto later stages of life. Even though many of the characters are much younger or older than I am, I feel like I can relate to most of them in some way. I love how the stories end abruptly without resolution or have ambiguous ending as well. The way that these stories make me feel reminds me fondly of The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, so if this is what a lot of early 20th-century literary fiction is like, I’m all for it. The last story that I finished was “A Painful Case,” and I started the next one. I probably should have finished this collection by now since it’s short, but I just haven’t been in the mood for reading. Whenever I have been in the mood, there is always something else happening to get in the way.

I also started Enchantress from the Stars since my last post, but I haven’t really got anywhere with it. *shrugs* I think that I just forgot about it…. Oops.

What did you recently finish reading?

I finally finished At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being and Apricot Cocktails by Sarah Bakewell. My tired mind is trying to gather thoughts about it right now, but it is highly recommended for anyone who is interested in the existentialists or philosophy. I loved how it mixed philosophical ideas with the biographies of the different existentialists. I’ve been interested in Sartre since I encountered his essay “For Whom Does One Write?” in a critical thinking course, so this satisfied some of my curiosity. I still would like to read some of his philosophical works in full, but I don’t know when that will happen. I definitely want to read No Exit sometime soon.

What do you think you'll read next?

Aside from what I am reading, I don’t know. I had some things in mind, but I have already forgotten them. -_-;

It has been a long while since I have done one of these. Since I’m trying to kick my summer reading goals into gear, here we go…

What are you currently reading?

Two things—At the Existentialist Café, which is non-fiction an philosophical, and Dubliners by James Joyce, which is a short story collection of Joyce’s early works. At the Existentialist Café is over half done, but I haven’t made much progress on it as of late because it is not the sort of thing I can listen to while drifting off to sleep. I just started Dubliners and have only read the first story. Last year, one of my professors said that all English majors should read Dubliners before they graduate, so I took the plunge and thanked God that he didn’t say Ulysses.

Well, I have failed at updating my journal regularly, but that which we call real life has plagued my mind and free time. I just finished my semester last week, so I have been reading and relaxing since then. Right now, I'm reading through a collection of Lovecraft's Dream Cycle, and I thought I'd share this quote because it seems appropriate:

"There are not many persons who know what wonders are opened to them in the stories and visions of their youth; for when as children we listen and dream,we think but half-formed thoughts, and when as men we try to remember, we are dulled and prosaic with the poison of life. But some of us awake in the nightwith strange phantasms of enchanted hills and gardens, of fountains that sing in the sun, of golden cliffs overhanging murmuring seas, of plains that stretchdown to sleeping cities of bronze and stone, and of shadowy companies of heroes that ride caparisoned white horses along the edges of thick forests; andthen we know that we have looked back through the ivory gates into that world of wonder which was ours before we were wise and unhappy."- H. P. Lovecraft, "Celephais," The Dream Cycle

All right, it has been a long while since I've done one of these posts. Conveniently enough, I remembered that it's Wednesday, and I'm actually reading something! Despite this not being the first Wednesday of the year, this is my first reading post for 2017.

What are you currently reading?

I picked up Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis again, but I haven’t made much progress on that as of late. Sometimes, I feel like I’ve already read quotes of the best bits, but it’s interesting to see into his childhood through this autobiography since we seem to share similar taste in literature. This author is probably the main reason that I’m studying literature in the first place, and now that I’m better acquainted with classic literature, it’s fun to pick out the references and know what he’s talking about.

What did you recently finish reading?

Today, I just finished The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling. I feel pretty bad for not getting around to this sooner, but obviously, it’s very different from Harry Potter. It took me awhile to get into it, but I ended up not wanting to put it down and really enjoying it by the end. I’m not really the kind of person to cry over books these days, but if I were, this book would have been one of them. I felt that the ending was sad but satisfying with a glimmer of hope for the future. I don’t feel like the characters were as memorable as those from Rowling’s other books, though. I rated the first Cormoran Strike book lower than this one on GoodReads (and I feel like I should reevaluate that rating), but the characters from that series stick out much better in my mind even though I read that book a few years ago. In this book, I kept forgetting who people were, and it was hard to like anyone at first because all of the characters are so flawed. It was definitely not a good versus evil kind of story with clear-cut heroes and villains like in Harry Potter, but it dealt with some of the same issues of class and prejudice that Rowling included in Harry Potter. Even though the subject matter was very different, it was easy to keep in mind that this was a book by J. K. Rowling. Plus, it’s always refreshing to die back into her prose and see how it has been changed by this genre.

What do you think you'll read next?

I have a couple things in mind, but I haven’t made a decision yet. I was considering Captive Prince or the second Cormoran Strike book. It all depends on my mood.

I was up half the night reading a Night Vale fic. I can't even remember the last time that I was so addicted to a fic. I'm guessing it was back in my POTO fandom days because I don't think I've read anything as long since then. This one was over 50K, and IMHO, Cecil was a little OOC in parts, but I still enjoyed the heck out of it. I read all of the available chapters, but it's a WIP, so I'll probably be reading it for time to come.

Despite being up late, I managed to miss Hunter x Hunter twice on Toonami. Unfortunately, I had to go out and eat Mexican food with family at the time I would normally watch it. I just decided to wait until it is rerun instead of recording it. I have really been enjoying it for the past few weeks, though. The dynamics between the characters are really starting to remind me of YYH, which is always a good thing.

Currently reading and enjoying American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I am on chapter thirteen and feeling enthusiastic, so I will probably have it done by tomorrow. I haven’t made much progress on the Dresden Files book, though.

Thankfully, the heat has decided to take a vacation for a while. Apparently, it was over 100 yesterday, but it was no hotter than the low 80s today. I've been enjoying some cool breezes from my window, but the heat kept me from sleeping last night. I don't think I was able to get to sleep until nearly 3 AM. When I did sleep, I had a haunted house-related dream/nightmare. I don't remember anything particularly creepy except for a general feeling of foreboding and the unease of finding myself alone in a dark, old house that was allegedly haunted. I blame this on reading The Haunting of Hill House—which was my first real ghost story ever—and starting Neil Gaiman’s American Gods where ( Spoilers )

. I don’t feel particularly tired as I was able to sleep in quite a bit, but I do feel a bit listless and uninspired which is a common side effect of not sleeping enough in my life.

I’m doing this now because I need some more structure to my life and posting while I’m out of school. I don’t have the threat of deadlines and assignments hanging over my head to keep me reading and writing on a regular basis, so this is it.

What are you currently reading?

I just started The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, and I already passed the part that I read as assigned reading in an English class. I also started reading the tenth book of the Dresden Files called Small Favor.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy by Sam Maggs – Like Lina said on Goodreads, I thought this might be a bit too “beginner” for me, but I’m always looking for something to expand my geeky knowledge, and I really appreciated the book’s feminist perspective.

You’re Never Weird on the Internet (almost) by Felicia Day – Despite only vaguely knowing who Felicia Day is, I loved this book. I was first exposed to this memoir when I downloaded 12 Books You Can’t Miss at Book con in order to read the Welcome to Night Vale novel preview, and I ended up reading all of the previews and adding some to my "to read" list. This book immediately struck a chord with me because I grew up liking nerdy things and I was homeschooled like Felicia. I also attended a small, private Lutheran school for elementary school, but overall, my experience sounds better than hers. There was a comment about wanting to write and finding the creative process to be excruciating at times, and I could totally relate. I felt like I could relate a lot to her issues with mental health and perfectionism as well. Overall, it made me want to get out there and create something. It was very inspiring.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson – It was only a matter of time before I read this because I love “The Lottery” so. It didn’t quite live up to that short story, but I really enjoyed it. Is it wrong that I identified with Eleanor? I sincerely hope that I’m not that screwed up. ( ”Spoilers” )

What do you think you'll read next?

I definitely want to finish up what I’m reading right now, and I think that’s doable.

All right, my first week of the semester is over! It seems that my last semester at this college will be somewhat low-key although I really must put a lot of effort into my intermediate Spanish class if I want to improve. I have mixed feelings about the semester already. Since this is my last semester, I am already starting to miss the college that has become my home over the last five years. It was the college that I never wanted to attend at first and that I often wished I could have been done with faster as I took my time to ease myself into the demands of college life, but I hate to say goodbye now. I will miss everyone and everything that has become familiar to me, especially favorite guy. I hope that I will be able to see him a lot before the semester is over and that I will get the chance to see him even after that because the idea of possibly never seeing him again brings tears to my eyes.

I didn't really feel like doing anything this morning, so all I did was do some Spanish lessons and goof off on the Internet. There were plenty of things I should have been doing, though. I still want to continue with snowflake_challenge, but I will probably get to that later today.

It sucks that Alan Rickman had to die this week. :( Unlike with David Bowie's passing, I was familiar with Rickman's work. I am an unabashed Snape fangirl, and Alan Rickman is at least 50% of why I started loving the character in the first place. He will always be remembered for the way he bewitched our minds and ensnared our senses. From that first Potions' class onward, I became a Snape fan instantly.

They're doing a HP reread over at Tor.com. I may look into participating even though I am already planning to do a reread of The Tale of the Body Thief at vc_media. Like the first reread post says, I'm sure Rickman's death will affect the way I read that book now that he and Snape are gone. If I do participate, it will be my first reading of the book since I read it when it first came out. My, how time flies.

In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Includea link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I've been meaning to write up a New Year's resolution post, so I'm glad that this was today's challenge.

I could put more, but it's good to start small, isn't it? I will have my hands full with these goals already, and any additional goals could probably fit under the above categories. At least I know that many of these goals are common, so I won't be alone in trying to live a better life in 2016.

In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that you've created, or fanworks youfeel no one ever saw, or fanworks you say would define you as a creator. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post ifyou feel comfortable doing so.

This is actually much easier than yesterday's challenge. It's not that I have so many fanworks that I'm proud of, but I have so few fanworks to choose from. I guess this is another reminder that I should write more.

Their Dark Waltz - I wrote this during the height of my Phantom of the Opera obsession. I fell for this fandom fast and hard after I saw the musical, but this was the only offspring of that love that ever saw the light of day. I was very proud of it at the time, and looking back on the reviews, people seemed to like it as well. Now, I'm a little worried that it may have come a little too close to purple prose at points, but I wanted the story to have a dream-like quality. I was actually much more of an Erik/Christine shipper, but I had no problem with writing Erik/Meg. Since I wrote it so long ago, I never imported it to AO3. Maybe I should do so. I also thought of continuing it. I always imagined a second chapter about Meg and Erik's relationship where she tries to fill Christine's shoes. Then, the third chapter would be about Meg and Erik getting married and Christine serving as a witness.

The Bings' First Family Christmas - Who would have ever thought that I would write Friends fanfic? If I can get my muse to cooperate, there will be more where that came from. Anyway, I felt confident writing this because I've watched Friends reruns so many times. The idea came to me when I was watching said reruns late at night, and I just had to write it. Once again, I never imported it to AO3. I'm proud of it because it managed to evoke that cute quality I had in mind. This is Chandler/Monica fluff, btw.

Pansy's Pet - For once, this is something that is actually on AO3, which is strange because I wrote it before either of the above fics. Since I originally posted it on LJ for a hp100 drabble challenge, it was easy to import. Anyway, this is one-sided Draco/Hermione. I'm not really into the ship, but the idea just caught me. I'm proud of it because of how I interpreted the "pet" prompt.

Since all creative works are allowed, I will include some non-fics as well...

My fic recs on AO3 - At least, this is how I think you link to recs on AO3. There may be some regular old bookmarks thrown in, but I loved all of my recs. Go read them!

My GoodReads reviews - I don't write reviews for every book or even close to it, but I'm trying to do more reviews. It would be nice to know that people are actually reading them. Anyway, you will need a GoodReads account in order to read them if you are interested.

I was technically finished with my finals yesterday, but I had to go back to school today to take care of some business for spring 2016, so it didn't feel like I was done with the semester. My brain is still winding down from the stress of the semester. Earlier, it was really bugging me a lot with this nagging feeling that I had forgotten something, but that has quieted down. The hardest part of vacation time is losing that sense of purpose that keeps me going in even the darkest of times. Still, it is just great to be writing for once and not pressured about a bunch of assignments to do. I am fairly sure about my Spanish grade, but philosophy is still a big question mark in my mind. However, I did manage to visit favorite guy and give him his present, so that worked out fine. I'm hoping that everything else works out for the best. *crosses fingers*

Now that the semester is over, I can get back to the very important business of actually living, otherwise known as spending way too much of my time on the computer. :D Seriously though, I do plan on going out more over my break because the only fun thing I did during the semester was go to visit my friend in Berkley over Thanksgiving. I will probably make my way out to see the new Star Wars movie. I wasn't fortunate enough to grow up watching the series, but the hype has certainly enticed me. I watched the original trilogy and the first two prequels for the first time last summer when I finally caved into peer pressure after waiting far too long to watch them. By the time I had finally watched the movies, I was already familiar with Joseph Campbell's wonderful The Power of Myth and the hero's journey stuff. I should probably get around to watching Revenge of the Sith while I'm at it because I have heard its the only good prequel. Besides, I'm still working on my "getting into science fiction" project," so it's about time to kick that back into full swing.

Speaking of which, I hope to use this time to catch up on my shows and reading. I'll probably give tumblr some more attention, too. Basically, media binging. There's not a lot of time to extend my yearly reading, but I do hope to finish up the books that have been marked as "currently reading" for at least months now without much progress. Maybe I can fit some sci-fi in there somewhere. To be honest, I want to drop everything and just read more of the Dresden Files, but I should finish up the year with some more diversity. I read the first six books this year, so there will be plenty of time to finish up the series next year if I so choose. I love Thomas, and Harry, of course. I wish I had started reading this series a long time ago when Harry Potter ended because it fills that hole in my heart nicely. I'm not sure I would put my enjoyment and love on the same level as my love for Harry Potter as it was still coming out, but the Dresden Files is still very addictive. I love the lush world it gives me to play around in and explore.

My mind is teeming with thoughts tonight, so I should probably write them down. Anyway, I need to write more. As far as school goes, my personal statement is essentially done, but I need to rework a few things before tomorrow if I can harness my powers of concentration for long enough to do so. I've fallen behind on most of my shows, and I haven't been having as much fun as I think I should. However, I did just have a dream about a Fifty Shades kind of relationship, which is strange because I have never been in love with Christian Grey.

Lately, I have become addicted to the browser game Fallen London. This is not a new game at all, but it is new to me. Since I am just dipping my toes into the waters of accessible games, I was happy to find this game at random without even looking. I found out about it through an advertisement on the Welcome to Night Vale subreddit; how perfect is that? That's some excellent marketing, Reddit. Anyway, I'm AnElusiveDreamer there. It's a very fitting game to be advertised beside Night Vale.

Other things, other things... I read the Night Vale novel not too long ago. I started reading Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined, but I got bored with it eventually. I don't think that it adds much to the universe, but I will finish it eventually... I'm dragging my feet on this because the biggest changes are not until the end and it's not always thrilling to wade through a bunch of minor changes. I will say this, though: the rewrite of the Port Angeles chapter sucks. Moreover, Edythe seems barely distinguishable from Edward. Beau is better, but it doesn't make it any easier to get past his name. Overall, the names of the gender-swapped Cullens are terrible. I have heard of people named Emmett and Rosalie before, but Royal? I guess I have to take that statement back now because I just realized that not all of the Cullens have terrible names. Eleanor is decent.

Is that all? Yes, for now. Now, I'm off to find pleasant dreams and even more pleasant realities.

I've been tweeting all evening, so I think my journal should get some love too.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell has consumed my waking mind. I'm nearly done with the book, and it is a massive book. I don't think I have fallen in love with a magical world this much since Harry Potter. The world building is that good. I also love the historical setting. A historical novel mixed with magic? Yes, please! Maybe the book is a bit long, but it's charming and intricate enough to make up for that. Naturally, I have been watching the mini-series and enjoying it as well. In fact, it's the entire reason that I dared to read the novel in the first place. It seems to be a pretty good adaptation thus far. Anyway, it's good to have something to look forward to on Saturday nights again.

It's getting late, but I may stay up to watch Michiko and Hachin. It's premiering on Toonami tonight.

Today is that special kind of day when Monday and the first day of the month happen to coincide. Happy June everyone! Fortunately, I have been out of school for over a week now, so Mondays really don't have to be any different than the weekend. There are definitely some things I should take care of this summer, but for now, I can be the mistress of my own time. :) Since this is the first of the month, I listened to the new episode of Night Vale. I hope to post a review of it sometime later. Needless to say, I enjoyed it more than the last episode.

Normally, after a grueling semester, I would be spending my time laying around exhausted and wondering what I'm doing with my life. While I have fallen prey to some of that, I have managed to be reasonably productive. I finished Rebbecca By Daphne Du Maurier the day after my semester ended. I had heard that it was inspired by Jane Eyre, but it didn't live up to that novel in my eyes. It was still interesting and much darker than Jane Eyre. Then, I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for the first time because Twitter told me it was Towel Day. It was a wonder to behold. I also read Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis and In the Beginning: A New interpretation of Genesis by Karen Armstrong for some more serious reading. I liked both, but I had issues with them. I downloaded 12 Books You Can't Miss at Bookcon 2015 for the sole reason of reading the preview of the Night Vale novel, but I ended up reading all of the previews to amuse myself. As it turns out, I'm interested in reading about half of them when they come out. I posted some reviews on my GoodReads account, but I may repost them here as well.

Right now, I'm reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and The House of Hades From the Heroes of Olympus series. I hope to do some more writing this summer, too.

The Modern Language Association has taught me to italicize the titles of all novels, but I got lazy halfway through this entry and gave up on that. ...I'm such a bad English major!

I'm laying here caught between the gentle sound of wind outside and a Glee rerun...

Anyway, I have been hiding away from the world for the last few days. I skipped Spanish again. In the meantime, playing through the original Pokemon game has been a wonderful distraction. I'm almost ready to battle Lt. Surge, so that's pretty cool. I'm glad that not everything has to change. Too bad my old strategy of ignoring my real life when I get stressed is as strong a tendency as ever.

It feels good and productive to be typing this, but my brain feels sluggish. I've been thinking a lot about just what I want to do with this journal. It would certainly help if I tried to write fanfic more. I feel so dead and out-of-touch fandom-wise. :(

I don't think that I've mentioned it yet, but the Percy Jackson series and its sequel The Heroes of Olympus have taken over one little fangirlish corner of my brain. It reminds me a lot of the kind of anime I used to watch and love as a kid. In particular, it gives me a Digimon vibe. That makes sense the way that the characters are presented and the fact that they're constantly fighting monsters. Plus, they both have important events at summer camp. Now that I think of it, some of the mythology overlaps as well. Digimon drew heavily from world mythology, and it was my first introduction to some Greek myths such as Arachne and the chimera. Along with the Chronicles of Narnia, it was one of my earliest introductions to Greek and Roman mythology.

Of course, all this gushing over young adult fiction has made me feel bad that I haven't been more academically-minded in my reading. I *could* and should read the actual Greek texts that these works were based on. Yet, there is a big part of me that wants to keep up with what's young, hip, and fannish. So sue me.

Actually, I've been doing a lot of thinking about why I am drawn to young adult novels now. For one thing, I didn't have nearly as much access to books when I was a teen. Sometimes, I think that I may be emotionally stunted, too. That's not to say that everyone who reads YA is emotionally stunted, but given how lackluster my adolescent years were, it wouldn't be a surprise. Maybe it's theraputic to focus on an idealized version of what might have been. For the most part, I don't find myself drawn to "realistic" high school stories. I like the ones which have some level of fantasy even if its as silly and problematic as something like Twilight.

What else have I done today? Nothing except reading fanfic. I read a handful of Welcome to Night Vale fics and a lone Twilight fic. Recs are on my FF.Net account and AO3.

I can't think of what else to say--it feels like my thoughts have dried up for the time being--but at least I'm writing!

I loved the Chronicles of Narnia when I was a child. Those were the first books that I truly loved. I would have probably said that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was my favorite at the time, but I remember liking the Magician's Nephew more. Actually, that is my favorite Narnia book now, but it was really hard to pick a favorite back then.

2. What is your favorite book now?

Probably Jane Eyre. *shrugs* Not only do I need to read more, I need to give this novel the proper re-read that it deserves. I haven't read it all the way through since 2011, and I would like to see if my perspective on it has changed at all.

3. What is your favorite movie adaptation of a book?

Uh.. that's hard. I used to say The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but I'm not so sure now. I haven't seen that movie in years. Actually, Sense and Sensibility with Alan Rickman is probably the better choice now. I didn't like the book very much, but I loved the movie.

4. Do you prefer checking out books from the library or buying them?

When I was younger, I bought books almost exclusively. The only time I remember borrowing books from the library was when I was very young. Now, I read ebooks almost exclusively, so I buy them or find some other way to obtain them to keep. I have heard that libraries have ebooks now, but I haven't investigated it. I would much rather download books to own.

5. Have you ever been let down by a book that was highly recommended to you?

Wuthering Heights, which I still haven't found the interest to finish...

Daylights Savings Time has effectively kicked my butt, and the heat has melted away what little strength I had left. This week was probably the worst that I have had this year, but don't quote me on that. In spite of not finishing the majority of the book, I did better on my quiz for Sorrows of Young Werther than I have done on most of the quizzes where I have actually read the entire book. Way to reward my laziness, God/the universe. Everything else this week was various levels of frenzy and confusion. I had to skip Spanish yesterday because I was too stressed and tired at the time, so I hope that won't cause any problems in the long-run. Tonight, I couldn't sleep and felt the need to cry a little bit. Altogether, my mental health has been on shaky ground. If I do in fact have social anxiety disorder, it has been acting up this week. It seems to get worse when I am tired and stressed. Plus, I have been out and about much more than usual this week. That's not a great combination.

So, of course, I have to wake up at a reasonable hour this morning for a family thing. :( I would much rather spend the day locked away in my bedroom. At any rate, I am very relieved that spring break is next week. I need it to relax and catch up on my studies.

This long week back to school has culminated in my birthday. Yay? I meant to do another post before I got back to school or at least before today, but of course, that didn't happen. I have spent this day doing trivia, eating at the beach, and naming my Zubat Lestat. In other words, it is a fairly typical birthday. I'm sort of watching Attack on Titan right now, but I haven't bothered to watch all of the previous episodes.

So, I'm 26. What does that mean? All I can say for sure is that I am four years away from thirty. That is somewhat unsettling because my goals are far from completion. It's not that thirty is old, but I feel too young to be that age. At least I have my old standbys of escapism. I've been playing Braillemon, which is an audio port of the original Pokemon games. Considering the fact that I haven't played a Pokemon game in ten years for reasons that are out of my control, it is refreshing to dive back into that world again. However, what really interests me is the newer games. The things that I have heard are intriguing to say the least. I have played through the first two generations, but I never finished or even purchased some of the games beyond that. Fortunately, the person who is working on this game wants to incorporate the newer games as well. I have played through the original games several times in my youth, and in some ways, I know Kanto like the back of my hand. I have forgotten some things, but the game is still very familiar to me overall. That being said, I have still found myself stuck in Mt. Moon more than once. It is surprising how little can change in sixteen years.

Other than that, I'm reading and trying to get into sci-fi. For school, I'm supposed to read Don Quixote. I have enjoyed it so far. I'm reading Breaking Dawn and The Host by Stephanie Meyer. I want to finish the Twilight Saga once and for all. There are still some thins that I like about the series, but others that I dislike. I can recognize and accept all of the faults in this series. Still, I can't help enjoying myself. I've already gotten past Bella's pregnancy from Hell. I look forward to her life as a vampire even though I know many spoilers and how anti-climactic this book can be.

That's all I care to say for now. I want to do a "me at 26" post, but we'll see.

Today was an utter waste. Or not. It all depends on how you look at it. I have scarcely gotten out of bed for most of it. Just in case you are looking for a suggestive meaning in that last sentence, it was nothing like that. God, I wish!

So, as I mentioned in my last entry, I went to the movies yesterday to watch Into the Woods. It was a lot of fun. Overall, I'm pleased with the adaptation although I'm not sure if I have listened to the original cast recording all the way through or watched a full performance of the stage version. At any rate, it kept the adult themes and darker elements intact. That is what makes it one of my favorite musicals, and I'm glad that they didn't Disney-fy it. I love Disney, but this story is very much the anti-Disney and the anti-fairytale. The fairytale characters have to grow up and face a world of uncertainty.

Is it wrong that I want fic for this? No, of course not,

As for today, I spent most of it reading and milling about on the Internet. I started Pandora by Anne Rice. Most people would say that I have already read all of the Anne Rice vampire books that matter, but I couldn't stay away. Pandora is one of the most powerful female vampires in her universe, and I wanted to learn more about her. Plus, there is a video of Anne Rice reading from this novel on YouTube that has always intrigued me. I meant to start by simply reading Interview with the Vampire or The Vampire Lestat to see if my viewpoint on those books has changed at all, but Pandora was listed first in the ebook collection that I downloaded, so...

Let me be the first to say that I love the ancient setting of this book. I love antiquity, and maybe that's half the reason that I'm reading the book. Anyway, this book goes farther back than I would have expected. After Pandora is done talking about the joys of writing and David Talbot, she records her life from childhood. I think that Pandora may have been a little too precocious in this section, but it didn't bother me that much. I was surprised to see how far she and Marius go back, too. The passages about her time in Antioch are intriguing as well. I have just gotten to the place where she encounters her youngest brother, Lucius.